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Intellivue Mx40 FirmwareOperating system · Philips

CVE-2017-9657

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Under specific 802.11 network conditions, a partial re-association of the Philips IntelliVue MX40 Version B.06.18 WLAN monitor to the central monitoring station is possible. In this state, the central monitoring station can indicate the MX40 is not connected or associated to the central monitor, and thus should be operating in local monitoring mode (local audio-on, screen-on), but the MX40 WLAN itself can instead still be operating in telemetry mode (local audio-off, screen-off). If a patient experiences an alarm event and clinical staff expects the MX40 to provide local alarming when it is not available from the local device, a delay of treatment can occur. CVSS v3 base score: 6.5, CVSS vector string: AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Philips has released software update, Version B.06.18, to fix the improper cleanup on thrown exception vulnerability, and implement mitigations to reduce the risk associated with the improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability. The software update implements messaging and alarming on the MX40 and at the central monitoring station, when the MX40 disconnects from the access point.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Philips IntelliVue MX40 Version B.06.18 suffers from improper exception handling during partial re-association under specific 802.11 network conditions. This causes a state where the central monitoring station shows the device disconnected (expecting local alarm mode with audio-on/screen-on), while the device remains in telemetry mode (audio-off/screen-off), resulting in missed alarms during patient events.

MitigationApply Philips software update Version B.06.18 to all affected MX40 devices, which implements proper disconnection messaging and alarming to ensure consistent device state between the monitor and central station.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Intellivue Mx40 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< b.06.18

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check MX40 firmware version via device menu
    On the MX40 device, access the System Information or Device Info menu (typically via the main menu > System > Info) and record the firmware version displayed (e.g., B.06.17, B.06.15)
    Affected if Firmware version shown is below B.06.18 (e.g., B.06.17, B.06.15, etc.)
  2. Verify firmware version via central monitoring station
    Access the Philips IntelliVue Central Station or iX software, locate the device list for the MX40, and check the firmware version column if exposed in the device properties or status screen
    Affected if Central station reports firmware version below B.06.18
  3. Confirm device exhibits state mismatch symptom
    During a brief 802.11 network interruption or partial re-association event, observe whether the central station shows the device as disconnected (expecting local alarm mode) while the MX40 display remains in telemetry mode with screen off and audio off
    Affected if Device shows screen-off/audio-off (telemetry mode) while central station indicates disconnected state expecting local alarm mode (audio-on/screen-on)
  4. Review device configuration for telemetry mode
    Check the MX40 configuration settings to confirm Telemetry Mode is enabled, as this is the precondition for the state mismatch vulnerability
    Affected if Telemetry mode is enabled on the device

A user is affected if their MX40 firmware version is below B.06.18 AND telemetry mode is enabled, with the device exhibiting the state mismatch symptom during 802.11 network events.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Philips software update Version B.06.18 to all affected MX40 devices, which implements proper disconnection messaging and alarming to ensure consistent device state between the monitor and central station.

Fix this in Intellivue Mx40 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-9657 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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